Household garages almost always suffer from poor ventilation. Most garages are not air conditioned and many lack windows. As a result, the air inside the garage tends to stagnate and become quite hot, particularly during warm weather months and in southern climates. When the garage is attached to the house, this heat will transfer quite easily to the inside of the home thereby decreasing the efficiency of the home's air conditioning system. Additionally, the interior of the garage tends to collect obnoxious odors from automobile exhaust and trash or garbage stored within the garage. These malodorous fumes tend to become trapped within a poorly ventilated garage and can eventually seep into the house. The hot, stagnant air and foul smells found within many garages makes them unpleasant environments in which to relax or perform household chores. Moreover, because garages are normally kept closed and many do not include windows, they tend to remain kept in darkness most of the time. This can cause mold and mildew to collect within the garage.
To date, the most effective way of improving the ventilation and lighting within the garage has simply been to open the garage door. However, this is often an impractical or even impossible solution. For example, during the hottest and sunniest periods of the day, the homeowner may be at work or otherwise away from home. For security reasons, the garage door cannot be left open unless someone is available to monitor the garage. Many deed restricted communities do not permit garage doors to be left open above a precise height for aesthetic purposes. And, leaving the door open to the garage permits insects to enter the garage. If garbage is stored in the garage, rodents and other pests may also be attracted.
Screen panels similar to those used in windows and screen doors have been employed to improve garage ventilation. However in order to install these panels, they must first be positioned between the bottom of the garage door and the floor of the garage. This can be a complicated and tedious task. Initially, the bottom of the garage door must be raised to a level above the screen panel. Then, the panel must be positioned in the garage door opening. While one person holds the panel, another person must lower the garage door until it engages the top of the panel to hold in into place. After the screen panel is removed, it must be stored in an appropriate location within the garage or elsewhere. To date, no automatically operated and permanently mounted screen assemblies for garage doors are known.